Check-blank.



' No. 675,38l. Patented lune 4. l90l.

L. E. FRANCIS, T, .E.YOBl( &. L. KENNEDY.

G H E G K B L A N K.

(Application filed June 2, 1897.}

2 Sheets-Sheet I,

(No Modal.)

KETWXYEE v 4 M m w m I witneoaco Ma s 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 4,190i.

0 H E 0 K B L A N K A umica filed June 2, 1897.)

L. E FRANCIS, T.E. YORK &. L. KENNEDY.

(No Model.)

k 1 g E www UNITED STATES ATENT ()FFICE.

LOUIS E. FRANCIS, THADDEUS E. YORK, AND LEVI KENNEDY, OF INDIAN- APoLIs,INDIANA; SAID KENNEDY YORK.

AS$IGNOR TO SAID FRANCIS AND CHECK-BLANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 675,381, dated June 4,1901.

Application filed June 2, 1897. Serial No. 639,113. (No model.)

T0 at whom it Wtay concern.-

Be it known that we, LOUIS E. FRANCIS, THADDEUS E. YORK, and LEvIKENNEDY, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State ofIndiana, have invented a new and useful Check-Blank, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention has relation to certain improvements in bank-checks,drafts, moneyorders, and the like.

The object of the invention is to produce a check or other paper thatcan be easily used and which will be effective in preventing fraud.

With these objects in view our invention consistsin the improved check,draft, moneyorder, or other commercial paper, as will be hereinaftermore fully set forth.

In the practical embodiment of our invention we divide theface 0f thecheckinto what we shall call four divisions or sections, the end ones ofwhich we will designate the makers and the identificationstubs,respectively and the intermediate ones the body portions and theindicating portions,respectively. Theidentification-stubis adapted to betorn off by the maker and sent to the payor, and the indicating portionis to'be torn across in such manner as to indicate the amount for whichthe paper is drawn, one part of which goes with the body or face portionof the instrument, and the remaining portion remains with the makersstub.

In the drawings we have indicated the body portion or face of theinstrument by the numeral 1, which. contains the date, amount, name ofthe bank, signature of the maker, name of the payee, and such otherinformation as may be advisable, as the number of the instrument, 85c.

2 indicates the makers stub, which is usually located at the left-handend and contains the date, number, and amount of the instrument and thename of the payee. The indicating portion 3 is preferably locatedbetween the face or portion and the makers stub and is provided withcharacters or figures to indicate the amount for which the instrument isdrawn. Located at the opposite end of the body or face is theidentification-stub at, which contains characters or letters by means ofwhich the identity of the instrument is determined when presented forpayment.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, illustrating our invention,Figure l is a view showing our improved check ready for use. Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the check with the makers stub and the stubintended to be sentto the banking institution detached therefrom. Figs.3, i, and 5 are front views of our modified forms of checks, the samebeing intended for use where a large amount of money is representedthereon.

The same letters of reference and the numerals hereinafter appearingwill designate like parts in the difierent views.

In the practical embodiment of our invention we have shown a checkcomprising the body portion 1, which contains the date, number, name ofbank, payee, residence of payee, and the amount and signature of themaker.

The numeral 2 designates the left-hand stub,containin g the date,number, payee,residence of said payee, and the amount of the check ordraft. Between the body portion of the check 1 and the stub 2 is anarrangement of figures 3 to show the amount of the check for which thesame has been drawn. Secured to the opposite end of the check is anotherstub 4, containing the number of the check and a word J, the use ofwhich will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

The letter A represents nine digits arranged in a row at the bottom ofthe check, at one end thereof, the same arranging from 9 to 1 .l andbeing intended to represent units of dollars.

B indicates nine digits arranged in a row at the top portion of thecheck, said digits arranging from 9 to 1 and being adapted to representtens of dollars. Intermediate the two rows of figures A and B and infront of the stub that is to be retained by the maker of the check andon the body portion of said check are arranged the figures 1 to 25, (see(3,) located, preferably, in triangular form, said figures beingintended to represent hundreds of dollars. These figures are placed insuch a manner that when the amount that the check is made for is tornoif no higher number will remain thereon. It will be noticed that thefigures are all so arranged as to increase from the body of theinstrument toward the makers-stub-in the present instance from the rightto the leftso that the last figure upon the portion given to the payeeis always the highest figure of any particular series, thereby removingany inducement or incentive for the payee to tear off any of thatportion of the check, because if any of the figures were removed thevalue or amount for which the instrument was drawnwould be decreased,and the person so mutilating or changing the instrument would be theloser by such change or alteration. lVhen a check is drawn for a certainamountsay sixteen hundred and fifty-eight dollars ($1,658)a portion ofthe check is cut or torn in a straight line from five tens, lettered B,to sixteen hundreds of the portion lettered C and from said figuresrepresenting sixteen hundreds (see 0) to eight units of the portion'A,as indicated by dotted lines thereon, leaving in the number desired. Ifno hundreds are desired, the check is torn straight from tens(represented by the letter B) to the units A, and the higher figuresthatare not to be used become part of the stub 2, and the amount forwhich the check has been drawn is indicated by reading only the highestfigure in each division upon the portion torn off, while the lowestfigures remaining upon the stub would each indicate the next highervalue in the series in which it occurred-that is, units in theunits-series, ten in the tens-series, and so on.

It is our intention that all forms of the checks shall be put up inblocks of, say, one hundred or more and to number the same from lupward, so that no two checks will he provided with the same number.Every block of checks ought to have printed thereon a word, such asComplete, as shown at H. Part of such word If shall be on the bodyportion of the check 1, and the remaining partof said word appearing onthe stub 4, as shown at I. It will be noticed that this word Complete isrepeated on stub 4 in full J, and we have found it advisable to changesuch word every time one hundred or more of such checks have beenprinted. After a large number of checks have been printed they areusually shuflied together, so that no two checks with words alike aretogether. Thus no two checks will ever appear having the same number orthe same word, so as to permit of each check being individualized.

As the checks are put up in blocks or bundles of one hundred or more,the stub 4 is out or torn off at the line K and is bundled or blockedthe same as the checks and then forwarded to the banking institutionupon which the checks are to be drawn. The drawer of the check hasnothing whatever to do with the stub 4. It is only to be used by thebanking oi'licials when they are in doubt as to the genuineness of thecheck. Should the number on the stub held by the banking officialscorrespond to that on the body portion of the check proper and the otherpart of the word H correspond to that I on the stub 4, the check will ofcourse be found to be genuine, otherwise not. lVhen the drafts are to beprinted, the same stub 4 is allowed to remain on said draft and be tornoff by the maker of the draft, mailing or otherwise forwarding it to thebanking institution paying the same. The same form can be advantageouslyused on money-orders such as are usually issued by express-companies.

From the foregoing description it will be plainly seen that the amounton the body portion of the check cannot be raised or altered withoutdetection, as the figures torn off will prevent it. It will also benoticed that the checks cannot be successfully forged or counterfeited,as no two checks will be provided with the same number and word, for incase of a check falling into the hands of a person no one knows what thecomplete word is that is partially contained on the check and stub 4except the bank officials that are to pay the same. The same maybe saidof a draft or money-order, as no one would be familiar with the completeword except the maker and payee.

The form of check shown in Figs. 1 and 2, just described, is good andcan be advantageously used to represent amounts less than two thousandsix hundred dollars, which is usually large enough in the transaction ofan ordinary business. If the check, draft, or other instrument is to bedrawn for a larger amount, one or more of such checks, as abovedescribed, can be drawn to cover such amount.

In Figs. 3, 4, and 5 we have shown several modified forms of checkswhich are intended for use in cases where a large amount is to berepresented thereon, that are usually found convenient in large business-houses where the construction of check illustrated in Figs.1 and2 would not be found as convenient.

In Figs. 3, 4, and 5, 1 represents the body portion of the check,provided with the usual space for the date, number,'name of bank,drawee, city, and State, and the place for signature arranged ashereinafter described. 2 represents the usual left-hand stub, with thespaces to receive a memorandum of the date,

number, drawee, city, and State, and the amount to correspond with thatappearing on the body portion of the check. Between the body portion 1and the stub 2 is the combination of figures 3, arranged and adapted tobe made use of as follows: A in Fig. 3 indicates the nine digitsarranged in a row from right to left at the bottom of the check andrepresenting units of dollars. B indicates the nine digits arranged in arow from right to left and intended to represent tens of dollars, anddirectly above the digits B are the nine digits 0, arranged in the samemanner and intended to represent hundreds of dollars,while at the top ofthe check D are the nine digits in a row to represent thousands ofdollars. Midway between the portions of the check lettered O and D andto the left thereof are the digits E, arranged in diamond-shaped form,beginning with l on the extreme right and following in the regular orderfrom top to bottom, skipping one space between each figure and endingwith 9 on the left, this figure being intended to represent tenthousands of dollars. F indicates a similararranged series of digits asabove described,

form will be used, as hereinafter described,

except that it will not be necessary to use the digits E and F, asshown. W hen a form of check for less than one thousand dollars isemployed, the construction of the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will beemployed, having the digits B at the top and O to the left, midwaybetween the digits A and B. When a form using the digits A, B, C, andDor A, B C and D is used, a cut or perforation G is made between thedigits B and O or B and 0 as the case may be,exteudin g the entirelength from l to 9, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the different divisionsof figures being designated by the proper names placed always to theright. To make a check, say, for fifty-six thousand eight hundred andsixtyone dollars the formshown in Fig. 3 would be employed and a cut ortear would be made in a straight line, leaving the highest figures ineach division--that is, from the numeral 6 in the line or series D tothe numeral 5 in the series E, thence to the numeral 8 in the series 0andfrom the numeral 6 in the series B to the numeral 1 in the series Aat the bottom of the paper.

By grouping the central figures in the form of a diamond or triangle andto the left of the upper and lower rows of figures they can be arrangedmore compactly, and thus give room for printed matter between the rowsof figures-as, for instance, directions, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In using a common form of check requiring only the use of rows offigures marked A, B, and F, as shown in Fig. 4, and drawing an amountof, say, five hundred and seventythree dollars the check is torn in astraight line from the numeral 7 of the upper row of figures B to thenumeral 5 of the figures F and from said numeral '5 to the numeral 3 ofthe lower row of figures A, leaving in the desired figures, as shown inFig. 4:.

In making out a common check for, say, forty-one dollars the check istorn from the numeralf of the upper row B, then downward to the numeral1 of the lower row of, figures A, as clearly shown by dotted lines at Min Fig. 4.

To draw a check, say, for eight thousand three hundred and sixty-sevendollars, the form shown in Fig. 5 would be used, in which the tear wouldextend from the numeral 8 of the upper row of figures D down to thenumeral 3 of .the row of figures C and then from the numeral 6 of therow offigures B to the numeral 7 of the lower row of figures A.

The foregoing examples have been given to illustrate the peculiar way wehave devised for protecting a person given a check, draft, or the likeand also the bank officials or others who are to pay the amountspecified, so that there will be no possibility of said commercial paperbeing altered or forged, as very often occurs.

By reason of the fact that we provide a check or the like with acomplete arrangement of figures thereon and the stub attached theretothere will be no possibility of any mistake having occurred or theamount of the check being raised or altered, provided the instructionsin making such checks or drafts will be followed.

It should be observed from the foregoing description that not only thedrawer or maker of the draft or check has a record on the stub, but thebanking institution where such paper is made payable is also providedwith a stub having certain words or figuresthereon, and should any doubtarise as to the genuineness of the paper presented the officials of thebank by merely referring to the stub bearing the number of the checkpresented would be enabled in a very short space oftime, uponcomparingsaid stub with the check, to ascertain whether the same was genuine ornot and whether any material alteration had been made thereon.

Various slight changes may be made in the form of the check or draftherein described and the arrangement of figures or words imprintedthereon. Hence we do not care to limit ourselves to any slightformalvariations, as we consider ourselves entitled to any slight changes asmay fall within the scope and spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A check or other commercial paper, the face of which is provided with amakers stub, a. body portion and an indicating portion arranged betweenthe makers stub and the body portion, said indicating portion beingprovided with horizontally-arranged series of characters, and characterstherebetween arranged in a group, the value of the characters increasingin value from the body por--

